MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Shares Sold by Axa S.A.

AXA S.A. reduced its stake in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) by 48.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 19,256 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 18,384 shares during the quarter. AXA S.A.'s holdings in MetLife were worth $1,577,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MET. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new stake in MetLife in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in MetLife during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in MetLife during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Graney & King LLC bought a new stake in MetLife in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Institutional investors own 94.99% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of MetLife from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of MetLife from $88.00 to $86.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on MetLife from $91.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Barclays decreased their price objective on MetLife from $95.00 to $88.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded MetLife from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, MetLife presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $92.69.

MetLife Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of MET stock traded up $0.23 on Friday, hitting $77.82. The stock had a trading volume of 2,371,416 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,403,239. MetLife, Inc. has a one year low of $65.21 and a one year high of $89.05. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $77.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $81.22. The company has a market cap of $52.24 billion, a PE ratio of 13.04, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54.

MetLife (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.00 by ($0.04). MetLife had a net margin of 6.19% and a return on equity of 20.42%. The business had revenue of $18.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.06 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.83 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 15.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 6th will be given a $0.5675 dividend. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.92%. This is a positive change from MetLife's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 6th. MetLife's payout ratio is presently 36.91%.

MetLife declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 5.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

MetLife Company Profile

MetLife, Inc, a financial services company, provides insurance, annuities, employee benefits, and asset management services worldwide. It operates through six segments: Retirement and Income Solutions; Group Benefits; Asia; Latin America; Europe, the Middle East and Africa; and MetLife Holdings. The company offers life, dental, group short-and long-term disability, individual disability, pet insurance, accidental death and dismemberment, vision, and accident and health coverages, as well as prepaid legal plans; administrative services-only arrangements to employers; and general and separate account, and synthetic guaranteed interest contracts, as well as private floating rate funding agreements.